|
|
Print-friendly version
Ashover
Ashover is situated in the heart of the beautiful Amber Valley and nestles snugly in richly picturesque countryside almost in the centre of a vast bowl of land, with wooded slopes and rocky hills rising all around, and with narrow lanes leading like strands of a spiders web from the village centre in all directions. Ashover is a huge sprawling parish of some ten thousand acres with numerous small villages within it's boundaries, and the richness of its diverse nature can be attributed to the parish's geological structure, where, as at Crich, an island of limestone rises from an encircling sea of gritstone.
The gritstone hills which surround the village lead to the independent nature of the village, and Ashover remained virtually a self-sufficient and self supporting microcosm of Derbyshire, rich in both minerals and lush pastureland suitable for dairy farming, and throughout its history these two occupations have provided the main source of Ashover's prosperity.
The popular All Saints Parish Church was constructed between 1350 and 1419 and was built around some pre-existing structures, notably the south doorway, built in 1275 by Margery Reresby. The tower and the graceful spire was built by Thomas Babington, who died in 1518, stands at 128ft and has been a familiar landmark in the valley for 600 years. He also gave the rood screen beneath which lies his tomb complete with alabaster effigies of the Knight and his Lady which Pevsner thought `the best of its date in Derbyshire'.
Modern Ashover is a thriving community of some 1,740 inhabitants whose social calendar of clubs and societies must be the most comprehensive in the county, boasting a range of activities from flower shows to ferret racing. The area is popular with tourists all year round and they are always made to feel welcome by the locals.
|
|